


whumptober 2019

by subtlize



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angry Keith (Voltron), Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Big Brother Shiro (Voltron), Foster Kid Keith (Voltron), Galaxy Garrison, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Insecurity, Lonely Keith (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-08
Packaged: 2020-11-24 04:14:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20901473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/subtlize/pseuds/subtlize
Summary: Keith curled in on himself, legs pulled up against his chest and forehead pressed into his knees. He grabbed at his hair so tightly that it hurt and bit his lip so hard he tasted blood. He promised himself he wouldn’t cry, he hated crying./whumptober 2019 prompts





	1. shaky hands

Keith curled in on himself, legs pulled up against his chest and forehead pressed into his knees. He grabbed at his hair so tightly that it hurt and bit his lip so hard he tasted blood. He promised himself he wouldn’t cry, he hated crying. He didn’t know how much time had passed, or if anyone even noticed he wasn’t there for the last two classes. He wondered if anyone was looking for him, effortlessly trying to pin him down so they could finally throw him out. This was the last straw, Keith was sure of it. Not only had he punched James in the face, but kicked a teacher before sprinting off. Being a good pilot only got him so far, but he had been warned before… _Shiro_ had warned him before that the Garrison wouldn’t tolerate this behaviour. Keith grit his teeth and punched the floor, hitting his head back against the wall. How could he be so stupid? Why couldn’t he just get his anger under control? Why couldn’t he just be _normal _for once?

The door to his dorm opened, and it was like a gunshot going off. Keith felt his heart pounding against his ribcage, the room was so silent he was scared to breathe. 

“Keith?” It was Shiro who called out, Keith dropped his head back onto his knees. “Keith? Are you in here?” He was scared, but all the same relieved to hear it was Shiro and not Iverson or Commander Holt.

The light from the room flooded into the closet as Shiro turned it on, and it was the first time Keith got a good look at his knuckles. They were split open, bloody and bruised and Keith couldn’t help but let out a small sob. It was over, he was going back into foster care, he was being kicked out of the Garrison. His social worker was probably waiting outside in the hall, a disappointed look on her face as she drove him off to some new home.

Shiro slid the closet door open, and Keith couldn’t help the tears that rolled down his face. He couldn’t look him in the eye, especially because he knew what expression was waiting for him.

“Keith…” Shiro knelt down in front of him, hand inching towards Keith’s like he wanted to touch him but knew better. “Are you okay?”

Keith wiped at his cheeks furiously, he promised himself he wouldn’t cry. He did this to himself, he ruined his own chances, his own future. This had seemed like a dream, being at school with Shiro, getting to meet so many skilled pilots, having housing and being surrounded around people who seemed to care what happened to him and where he ended up. It was all too much, but it had to end eventually, Keith knew that… He knew how the world worked.

Keith pulled his hands into his lap and lifted his head, peering at Shiro through his bangs.

“Is my social worker here?” Shiro pulled his legs into a position that matched Keith’s but it looked much less comfortable when he did it, his long legs not really fitting into the tiny closet. There was a long pause and Keith ducked his head into his lap, covering his face with his arms.

“Keith, you can do this.” Shiro said quietly, shuffling towards Keith a little more and resting his hand on Keith’s knee. “And no matter how much you think this isn’t right for you, I know you can. And I’m never going to give up on you, okay? You’re with me, and you’re staying with me.” Keith looked up, and the confusion must have been written clearly on his face because Shiro hurried to continue. “Keith, we’re going to figure this out, no matter what it takes. I’m not giving up on you, and you’re not going back to the home, as long as I can help it.” It took a few minutes to process what Shiro was saying, but eventually he nodded, looking up to Shiro.

“Can I take you to the infirmary? I promise I’ll be right by your side the whole time.” Keith nodded and stood up (awkwardly, hangers hit him in the back and Shiro bumped his head on the shelf), and stuffed his shaking, bloodied hands deep into his pockets.


	2. explosion (of anger)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dealing with Shiro gone and also trying to process that he's the leader now, Keith struggles with the training simulation and explodes in a fit of rage when Lance tries to help. 
> 
> /whumptober 2019 prompt "explosion"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to do something a little different with this because I was having a hard time writing for something with a physical explosion. this is pretty bad but I really am trying to power through the prompts I don't like as much because this is a fun challenge for me :D

Keith grunted in frustration and ripped his helmet off, letting it clatter to the floor. This was the fifth time he had failed level 45 in the training simulation, and every time he thought for sure he’d get past it. Across the room, Lance ended his level and took off his helmet, calmer then Keith, with a boyish smile on his face. Lance had passed the level almost an hour ago, onto level fifty-something now.

“Hey, you’ll get it next time,” Lance said, shaking his head and ruffling his hands through his hair. “It’s a hard level.”

Keith felt murderous. “Oh yeah? What, did you cheat or something?” Lance looked hurt, his face falling for a mere second before morphing into pure mischief.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, man.” Keith clenched his hands into fists and tightened his jaw, he could feel what felt like an explosion of anger erupt in his chest and he wanted to punch something.

“You are so fucking _annoying_, Lance. You know that right?” Now that they were both older, Keith rarely ever fought with Lance, especially because Lance didn’t care as much about their ‘rivalry’ anymore. He actually really liked having Lance as an ally; he was compassionate and level-headed, always wanting to get down to the root of a problem before making any hasty decisions. Lance had the potential to be a great leader, someone who could really help defeat the Galra once and for all, and Keith… Keith couldn’t help but feel angry. With Shiro still missing, they needed someone to fly the black lion and deep inside he knew he wasn’t the right fit for it even though Shiro had insisted he was. He knew that he wasn’t. He could never make the right decisions and somehow he always ended up putting more people in danger than he did with helping them. He was frustrated, to say the least. Frustrated with training, frustrated at Lance, frustrated with himself.

Keith walked over to the wall and threw his bayard on the floor, kicking his helmet to be beside it. Lance chuckled to himself and tilted his head, “Not my fault I’m just better than you.”

No matter how much Keith had praised Lance before, he was feeling ready to punch him in the face right now. He saw red, he felt like he couldn’t breathe, his vision went fuzzy, his head clogged up with just pure rage, and he wanted to cry. He felt his cheeks heat up and his nails were digging into his skin so much he was surprised he hadn’t broken the skin yet. He whirled around and stepped so close to Lance, he fell back in surprise.

“How about you just be the leader, huh? Since you’re so good at _everything_? You’re just _so much better_ than everyone here, _aren’t you_? So why aren’t you leader then? How come Shiro asked _me_ to be the leader if you’re just so much better than me, Lance?” Keith was breathing so heavily by the time he was finished he saw black spots dance across his vision. He realized he had stepped right over Lance, the blue paladin looking so scared and confused Keith instantly felt bad and took a couple of steps back.

“Keith…”

Before Lance could say anything else, Keith gathered his things and dashed out of the training deck. He knew this wouldn’t just blow over, he messed up badly. His vision became blurry with unshed tears and all his anger melting into guilt. He didn’t want to lead Voltron even though he desperately wanted to make Shiro proud. He wanted to prove that he could do this, that he was still worth something. He let his things fall to the floor and then slid down the wall beside his bed.

He felt worthless.

**Author's Note:**

> so this is my first time giving whumptober a shot, and I'm honestly immensely excited about it. I'm already a couple of days late, but I do plan on doing all the prompts, even if I go a little bit into November :D This first one isn't really about shaky hands, but I had an idea and I rolled with it, I will try more on my other ones to make them more about the actual prompt, but I am just happy I finished this one!


End file.
